The Actual Parent Trap
by ekdimaano
Summary: In this story, Hallie Parker and Annie James unravel a secret Nick that should have came out a long time ago. The girls have always felt very strong about Nick's "beloved" girlfriend, Meredith, so in revenge, they go to extremes to get rid of her by any means possible.


The Parent Trap Fanfiction

If there was one thing every kid dreaded during summer, it was seeing their days at summer camp come to a close, and this was exactly the case of Hallie Parker and Annie James. It was their last day at Camp Walden and this year, it was a totally different experience for the both them. They reunited with old friends, new friends, but more importantly, with each other for the first time. Their encounter was anything but formal.

This all started when Robbie, the cutest boy at camp in Hallie and Annie's eyes, decided to give his number out to both of the girls without telling them. To Robbie, dating twins was one of his wildest dreams. Little did he know, Hallie and Annie had no idea of each other. For weeks, he would make time to hang out with them at separate times. His shady behavior was not obvious to the other kids at camp since Hallie and Annie were identical twins. However, Robbie's "wildest dream" did not last long after being exposed when Hallie left him a voice mail while him and Annie were playing "Go Fish" in his cabin on the day before camp ended.

"Aren't you going to answer them? That's the fourth time they tried calling you," she paused and glared at Robbie's lit phone, "…who on Earth is Hallie?!"

"Um, well, it's not urgent…" he replied while silencing the call, "She's just a friend, she can wait. You're way more important."

"If it's not that urgent, why does 'Hallie' keep calling? Why don't you answer her and let her know you're in the middle of something?"  
Robbie ignored her question and kept his eyes focused on his playing cards. As he asked Annie for a five of hearts, he was interrupted by his cellphone ringing once again. This time around, it was a voicemail notification. Annie took his phone before he could get to it and played the voice mail on speaker:

"Hey Robbie, it's Hallie. Not sure why you're not answering my calls, but I'm waiting for you out by the lake on the bench. It'd be in your best interest to show up to the date that you planned out, you know, watching the sunset on the lake? Can't wait to see you soon!"  
Annie stood up abruptly, dropping the phone on the floor, and headed towards the door.

"Well?" she exclaimed, "what are we waiting for, Robbie? Let's show up to this little 'date' of yours!"

"Annie, don't be like that… It's not what you think, you're overreacting!"

"Overreacting? I'll show _you_ overreacting!"

Annie darted out the door in the direction of the only lake the campsite sat on. Robbie followed, calling out to her asking her to come back to let him explain himself. Everything he tried to say to Annie went through one ear and came out the other. Finally, Annie reached the lake where she saw a silhouette of a girl sitting on the bench facing the lake. Robbie was still way far behind.

"Hey you," she shouted as she lightly shoved Hallie's shoulder, "who are you to keep blowing up my man's phone?!"

Startled, Hallie turned around, and in an instant, the two girls were in complete awe of what they were seeing right before their own eyes. A sense of astonishment and relief came over the girls and the idea of Robbie had suddenly vanished. _This_ was way more important.

"Pardon me… I'm Annie James…"

"Hallie Parker… Nice to meet you?" she held out her hand.

"I guess it looks like you're way more than the girl who's blowing up 'my man's' phone…" Annie said with a giggle.

"It appears so! I guess Robbie has a good taste in girls… Speaking of the little dweeb, where'd he run off to?" Hallie asked while looking around.

"I could care less," Annie went on, "what matters more is that I have found my twin sister! This is incredible!"

"Of all places, who knew?!" exclaimed Hallie, while playing with her locket around her neck.

"This cannot be! I have that exact same locket… It has an 'A' engraved into it… I have worn this everyday since I was born! It was given to me by my father whom I have never met!"

"Get out," Hallie said "Mine was given to me by my mother, whom I have never met either!"

Since it was the last night at camp, Hallie and Annie agreed to switch cabin-mates so they could have a night to essentially get to know each other and catch up. Once they were situated in Annie's cabin, they sat on their beds and pelted each other with questions. It was Hallie who couldn't contain her excitement first.

"I cannot believe our parents didn't tell us about each other... Well, sister! Tell me about yourself and our mother!"

"Wow, hmm… Okay. I'm Annie James, 11 years old, born and raised in London. I live with my best friend, aka our butler, Martin. I also live with our grandfather, our Aunt Mary, who runs the wedding dress shop our mother, Elizabeth James, use to run before she passed away…"

"…passed away…?" Hallie choked.

"She was at the wrong place at the wrong time." Annie paused to take a deep breath. "It was two years ago. She was struck by a drunk driver. The man and his wife were able to walk away, and mom was not…"

"THAT IS NOT AT ALL FAIR. NOT ONE BIT." Hallie protested with tears rolling down her face.

"I know. All she wanted to do was to run to the market to buy last minute groceries for our Christmas dinner we always host, little did I know that was the last time I would see her walk out the door…" There was a heavy silence interrupted with sniffling coming from both girls.

"Our mother, Elizabeth _James_ ," Hallie hesitated, "is dead because of a drunk driver. I can't even believe it…"

"Death is beyond anyone's control, Hallie… She was a spectacular mother and role model to the fashion community. Mom loved all the time she invested into her wedding dress store as much as all the time she spent with us and our little family," she paused to wipe Hallie's tears, "Mom was beautiful, selfless, successful, but most importantly, loving. She never once failed to crack a smile on my face and has never left me wondering where my next meal was coming from. Her, Aunt Mary, Martin, and our grandfather made a spectacular team and even without her, they're still doing a great job." Hallie did not even know how to feel or what to think. Their mother, whom she had never and will never get the chance to meet, was _dead_. She had so many questions, but she did not know if Annie was willing to answer them.

"What's Aunt Mary like?"

"Aunt Mary is a character, I tell you. She's the most upbeat and enthusiastic woman I have ever met. There has never been a dull moment with her. She's spontaneous, caring, beautiful, and funny, just like our mother! Mom would be proud to see her succeed in running the wedding dress shop."

"What about your butler, Martin?"

"Oh, Martin! He's my best friend, my go-to for any problems they are, little or small. Always has the right thing to say!"

"And grandfather?"

"Grandfather is very to-himself. He likes to collect newspapers and cigars. In fact, he gave me keepsake of the newspaper cover of mother's death… Would you like to see?" Before Hallie could answer, she made her way towards her box of memories she brought with her everywhere. She collected all sorts of things, she even had a bottle of rattle snake venom she collected from camp the previous year. She took out a limp newspaper page with the headline that read: "DRUNK LOVE TO BLAME FOR ELIZABETH JAMES" above a picture of the scene and a picture of the man's mug shot.

"WAIT A MINUTE…" Hallie snatched the newspaper and focused her attention on the mug shot. She studied the image carefully. "YOU SEE THIS MAN?"

"Yeah?"

"THAT," she paused, "IS OUR FATHER. NICK PARKER."

"Your, I mean our, dad is responsible for the death of our mother?!" Annie said confusingly.

"That's him I can't mistake that face anywhere! Even the caption says 'Nicholas Parker, 36'. I recall the night he got in that out of town accident two years ago. It was Christmas and he left me with family friends to take his annoying girlfriend, Meredith, on a 'trip of a lifetime,' which was all her idea."

"Parker!" Annie said in astonishment, "I cannot believe I didn't catch that. I cannot believe my father is responsible for this. I just cannot believe anything I'm hearing this is crazy. And he was with a woman other than mom?!"

"That's just how the cookie crumbles when parents don't stay together after having kids… I remember he wasn't allowed to drive me anywhere for a long time and I always thought it was because he was just shaken up from the accident. It turns out he had his license taken away for awhile."

"Who is Meredith?!" insisted Annie.

"Probably the most annoying woman on the face of the earth." Hearing someone say her name, even in a difference accent, still made Hallie cringe. "She is the most ignorant, needy, and most dependent brat there is. Dad's too big of a sucker to ever say no, but when it comes to me, it's like the word 'no' itself is like his first language!" Hallie was getting too worked up to continue any longer.

"Our dad killed our mother on accident and is now with a needy woman?"

"That's kind of harsh, Annie, but when you put it that way… Like you said, wrong place, wrong time. Everyone makes mistakes, and I know I'll never forgive him for this one since I didn't know his accident involved someone's death, let alone our mother's, but he is a well-rounded man…"

"What's dad like then, Hallie?"

"He's the hardest worker and when he's not putting all his time and effort in to me or Meredith, it's towards his vineyard."

"What on earth is a vineyard?!" Annie asked. The word was so foreign to her she completely disregarded everything Hallie had said.

"It's his like his own land of grapevines and he uses those grapes to make wine. It's pretty cool actually. He's pretty successful at it, too. He is not much of a 'family guy' but he is laid back and is always open to talk if I ever needed him. He gives me all these goofy nicknames that I never know where he comes up with, but they always stick."

"I understand… I have always wanted to meet my real dad, or have a dad figure in my life, which is probably why I am so close with Martin. We even have our own handshake!"

"Yeah, dad's a good guy. Despite all the fights we've been through, and mistakes that we both have made, I still love him because he's my dad. I just wish I had a mother figure that isn't Meredith in my life, too." The thought of using the word "mother" and "Meredith" made Hallie cringe even more. However, this did give Annie idea.

"Hallie," Annie hesitated, "I just came up with the most brilliant idea, but you cannot freak out once I say it… Just hear me out."

"All right, enlighten me?" She replied unenthusiastically.

"You want to know what a real mother figure is like and I want to know what having my own dad is like… The only logical way of getting that experience is to switch places with each other and see for ourselves!"

"Annie, you are absolutely crazy…" Hallie continued, "but, you are also absolutely right. I am so in! You know how fun it could be if we pulled this off?!" She knew the switch would be anything but an easy task but it would be worth the shot.

"I'm glad you agree! We are literally spitting images of each other, they will never notice!"

Instead of participating in the camp's last day activities, they spent all night planning their switch. After all, they were expected to leave the following morning. Annie taught Hallie her and Martin's handshake which only took ten minutes to perfect. The only thing they both had to semi-work on was each other's accents. To them, the task was nothing but to switch places and act like each other. It was as simple as that. Even though the girls had only spent one night with each other, it was easy for them to pick up on their personalities and how they acted. Both Annie and Hallie were ready, yet anxious, to wake up and head to a place they have never been before and live with people they've never met.

It was finally the morning where the girls had to part their own ways. Once Hallie and Annie woke up, they packed up their belongings, left the cabin, and headed towards the main grounds. When they arrived, they were greeted with the chaos of an overwhelmingly amount of campers waiting for their busses and saying their goodbye's.

"Today's the big day!" exclaimed Annie in her impression of an American accent.

"Wow, look at you," Hallie responded with her take on a British accent, "you look rather ravishing!"

"…We don't say ravishing, Hallie, but you sound good! I think we're ready."

"I could not agree more!" The girls smothered each other with hugs after they exchanged suitcases. Behind the trail of busses, there appeared to be a line of cabs and a limo.

"Well, Hallie, there's the limo! Better get on your way before they leave you behind!" Annie said jokingly.

"Okay, here I go… Remember, you're going to confront dad about the accident and try to get rid of Meredith."

"Right! And you're going to find a way to get Aunt Mary to talk to you about the incident and find out as much as possible."

"Roger that! I will remember to call you once I land," said Hallie, "take care of business and don't hesitate to call whenever!"

"I promise, Hallie," Annie said as the limo driver honked the horn, "you better get going!" The girls shared a final hug before Hallie made her way to the elongated limo, where she would be driven to the international airport so she could be on her way to London. Annie was then escorted to a cab that would drop her off at the local airport to be flown to California.

A mix of emotions were running into the girl's heads during the plane ride. Hallie was skeptical since she had never traveled outside of the country, but the only thing that was easing her nerves was the fact that she was going through all of this just to meet someone who was the next best thing to her mother. She never thought this day would come. Hallie could only hope that her Aunt Mary could love her as much as she loves Annie. Annie, on the other hand, was just as anxious to meet her father as she was to meet Meredith. The thought of her father with Meredith made her sick to her stomach, which already started her hatred for both of them. After falling asleep the whole plane ride, Annie was the first to land in California. She got off the plane and headed towards the luggage claim.

"WELCOME HOME, HALS!" Nick shouted from across the airport, already having her suitcases in hand.

"Dad! It's you! It's really you!" Annie said with a smile on her face and ran into his arms. Her father was a lot more put together than she thought he would be. He was wearing a gray button-up shirt with jeans. However, she couldn't help but to look at him as the reason for her mother's death and is now a man who is with another woman other than her mother.

"How was camp, kiddo?!" Nick asked while making their way out to the exit.

"It was great! I met some very, very interesting people…"

"A boy?" asked Nick playfully.

"No way! It's no one. Where's Meredith?"

"She's outside waiting in the car. I don't want her to get mad so let's pick things up and get moving so she isn't waiting long!" She had never been so annoyed with anyone being this controlled. She watched her dad run ahead of her with her suitcases. Right off the bat Annie had realized that her father was as trained like a little puppy.

"Nice to meet you, too, 'dad'…" she murmured to herself, trailing behind Nick. When she finally reached the parking lot, she saw Nick packing her things into the trunk. She made her way over to the car, where she saw a blonde-hair girl with bright pink lipstick sitting in the passenger seat.

"Meredith? Is that you?" Annie said in disgust. Meredith and Nick looked at each other confused.

"Excuse me? Who else would I be?" Meredith snapped.

"Oh, you just looked a tad different. Maybe it was all the weight you've put on since I've been gone." Annie snobbishly said as she cracked a smile and hopped in the other side of the car. The three of them sat in silence the whole car ride back to their house. Annie closed her eyes to take a nap, and before she knew it, they were at the house. Once they parked, Annie watched Meredith drag Nick straight inside the house, with no resistance from Nick.

"Um hello? Is anyone going to help me bring my suitcases inside?" asked Annie with a sense of aggravation in her voice. She heard nothing but a door slam shut, so she fetched her suitcases from the trunk herself. Annie struggled up the driveway with her large suitcase and finally made it to the door. As soon as she entered and closed the door behind her, she was unpleasantly greeted by a golden retriever. She did not remember Hallie mentioning they had a dog.

"Help!" Annie said startled. Nick came rushing into the room holding Meredith's hand.

"What, Hal?! He's just excited to see you!" laughed Nick.

"Awww, come here, Buddy!" Meredith exclaimed, and the dog did exactly what she said.

"Why don't you look at that," said Meredith "looks like he forgot all about you while you were gone at camp. Boo-hoo."

"Or maybe he likes that you also smell like a dog 24/7." Annie snapped as she walked up the stairs towards Hallie's bedroom, which was indicated with a big "H" on the door.

"I'll be in my room if you need me, dad." said Annie. Again, she heard nothing but the sound of the dog, Nick, and Meredith make their way to the kitchen. She stayed in her room all night waiting for Hallie's call.

Hallie had finally landed in London and she was already bewildered with excitement. Once she set foot into the airport, she immediately spotted a gentleman in a black and white suite and tie holding up a sign that said "Welcome Home, Annie!" in one hand and roses in the other.

"Martin?!" Hallie ecstatically said. She walked towards him with arms wide open.

"Did you already forget, Ms. James?!" Martin said jokingly. He placed the sign and roses down and extended one of his arms out ready to do their handshake. Hallie confidently shook his hand and proceeded with the rest of the hand shake, which was then followed by a huge hug. They made their way towards the luggage claim.

"I missed you, Ms. James! Your aunt, grandfather, and I lost so much sleep just waiting for you to come home. I remember your mother always dreaded sending you to camp because she hates going days without seeing you! It's been so quite in the house." said Martin as he gathered her two large suitcases from the conveyor belt.

"It just feels so good to be back, I cannot wait to sleep in my own bed!"

"Then let's get to it shall we! We should try to beat the traffic since we have a long drive ahead of us. Are you hungry?

"No, not at all." Lied Hallie.

"Very well then, off we go!" Martin escorted Hallie outside where he opened the car door for her before he set her suitcases in the trunk.

After the two-hour car ride, Hallie finally pulled up to the house. She couldn't help but be in awe about the beautiful stone walls, steps, and fountain that was placed in the front. She couldn't believe this was where her mother lived all her life. Once Martin parked the car, he got out and made his way to Hallie's side of the car and opened the door.

"Welcome home, Ms. James!" said Martin. "Mary and your grandfather are waiting for you inside. Go on ahead while I grab your bags!" She did just as he said and slowly made her way around the fountain and up the steps of this gorgeous mansion. She finally built up the courage to open the door and step inside.

"Annie, is that you?!" shouted a high-pitched voice from upstairs. Mary came out in a gorgeous, teal, a-lined dress with a pearl necklace.

"Yes, Mary, it's me. It's me Annie!" exclaimed Hallie as she walked towards the spiral staircase. Mary came rushing down with a smile on her face.

"Welcome back, sweetie!" greeted Mary with a big hug and kisses. "You cut your hair!"

"Yes, I did! Do you like it?" said Hallie excitedly.

"Like it? I love it! You work short hair better than I do!" Mary said, giving her another hug. "I'm in the middle of a business call, I'll be out in a few. Grandfather's in the library if you haven't said hello already!" Mary walked back up the spiral staircase blowing Hallie a kiss. After wandering the wide hallways of this mansion, she finally found the library, which was right by a table with a telephone by it, which reminded her that she needed to call Annie ASAP. But first, she peeked her head in the library.

"Grandfather, are you in here?"

"Annie! You're back, hello! Come over here and give me a hug!" he turned around from a tall, leather spinning chair. Hallie cracked a smile and headed over to give him a hug.

"How was camp? Did you make any new friends?"

"I guess you could say that!" Hallie giggled.

"That's wonderful, darling. I'm glad you had fun."

"Yeah I did! I'm happy to be back home, I can't wait to take a shower and fall asleep in my own bed, which I should probably do now. It's getting kind of late."

"Oh yes. Freshen up, I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow morning. Thanks for stopping by to say hello to me. Love you, Annie!"

Hallie quietly left the room, closing the door behind her. Before she went upstairs, she remembered the telephone that she spotted on the table. She unplugged it from the wall, and stuffed it in her sweater's big pocket that she was wearing. Hoping no one would notice, she started her way up the spiral staircase and finally made it to Annie's room. She shut the door behind her, found the nearest outlet to connect the telephone to, and pulled out Annie's number from her pocket. She then entered the number into the phone and it rang. She sat and waited, and finally Annie answered.

"Hello?" Hallie whispered eagerly, "Annie, is that you?"

"Hallie! You're alive and in London! I'm in California! This is crazy. I already have so much to tell you."

"Yeah I made it here! I can't believe we pulled this off. It's so nice here! London is exactly what it looks like in all the pictures and postcards! How's California so far?"

"I wouldn't know, I've been in your room all day. But from what I somewhat have seen, it's gorgeous. The only hideous thing about it here is dad's 'Meredith.' I have already had it with her and I just met her. I don't understand how you have dealt with her for so long!"

"I'm barely breathing when I'm around her, Annie. You have to do something about her sooner or later. The sooner she's dead, the sooner we can switch back."

"About that… Hallie, I've been doing a lot of thinking since being here and I have yet another great idea. And you must hear me out."

"Oh boy, I'm excited for this one." Hallie said sarcastically.

"I have with me…" Annie paused for dramatic effect.

"You have with you what exactly?"

"I have with me a tube of rattle-snake venom from camp last year from that nature walk! You saw it in my memory box in the cabin, remember?"

"What's your point?" asked Hallie.

"My point is that it's venom, and it's poisonous. If injected to any victim, they die almost instantly. I'm saying if somehow, I slipped some into Meredith's wine at dinner…"

"YOU ARE BRILLIANT!" Hallie exclaimed, trying not to be too loud.

"So it's settled then. After tonight's dinner, there will be no more Meredith?" Before Hallie could answer, Mary knocked on her door.

"Annie? You okay in there?"

"Yes mother, one second!" Hallie said in a panic, "look, Annie, I'll call you back in a bit. Aunt Mary's at the door!" she whispered.

"Got it, I'll wait for your call back. Have fun with her sis, she's great! Bye!" Annie hung up.

"Come in, Aunt Mary!"

"So, Annie… Tell me about camp! Meet anyone new?"

"Yeah, I meet new people every year actually. I made one special friend though, she's the one that cut my hair. Can you believe it?!"

"Long or short hair, Annie, you're still beautiful! Your friend did a spectacular job." Aunt Mary said with a smile.

"Thank you! But spending so much time with her made me wonder more about mom… Can I ask you something?"

"You can always ask me anything, Annie" she said with a worried look.

"Mom's accident wasn't intentional on the driver's part, was it?"

"Why would it have been?" Aunt Mary hesitated.

"Was it not a coincidence that the drunk driver happened to be the man that she had kids with?" Hallie looked away with tears rolling down her face. Aunt Mary had a blank look on her face.

"Annie, sweetie…" she started, "how did you put those pieces together? Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Yes, actually… I'm not sure where to start, but I'm going to say it…" Hallie gulped before she continued, "I'm not exactly who you think I am… I'm Hallie." She couldn't believe those words had come out of her mouth this early. She didn't know what Aunt Mary was going to think. Her heart dropped into her stomach. She was nervous, so naturally, she started playing with her locket.

"You can't be…" said Aunt Mary in astonishment, tears rolling down her face.

"It's me, Aunt Mary. I'm Hallie Parker, and Nick Parker is my father."  
Aunt Mary noticed the locket Hallie was playing with. She leaned in closer only to find out that there was the letter "H" engraved for "Hallie." More tears rolled down her face.

"Hallie?! It is you! My goodness!" she exclaimed, holding Hallie close to her.  
"You found Annie at camp, and switched places with her?! You, Hallie, are here in London and Annie is all the way in California still?!"

"Yes… I hope you're not mad… I just wanted to meet my mother and she wanted to meet our dad…"

"But honey… Annie must have explained to you that your mother…"

"I know… She showed me the newspaper article with our father's mug shot. That's how I put two and two together… Dad was the drunk driver killed mom on Christmas. I don't want to go back home to the man that killed my mother, Aunt Mary…" Hallie explained as she wiped her never ending tears. Aunt Mary held her tightly.

"Your mother would have loved to be here right now, Hallie. I promised her I would take the best of care of you girls and I'm keeping my word. I would love for you to stay here, in London, with us. Annie has more than enough room in her bedroom for an extra bed… Have you spoken to her? When is she coming back? How is she coming back?!"

"Well," said Hallie with a sense of doubt in her voice, "we didn't think this entirely through. She's with dad, but Meredith, his girlfriend, is preventing her from enjoying her time."

"I had a horrible feeling about that woman… I'm buying Annie her ticket home that will leave first thing tomorrow morning. I'm sorry, Hallie, but I do not trust Annie with your father. I'm going to make some lunch, come down when you want to!" said Aunt Mary, who gave her a gentle kiss on Hallie's forehead and then left the room. As soon as she left, the first thing on Hallie's mind was to call Annie back and that's exactly what she did. She redialed the number on the telephone and immediately, there was an answer.

"What took you so long to call me back?!"

"Annie, listen to me. Do what you have to do to get rid of Meredith. Now."

"Just what I wanted to hear!"

"But I have news… I spilled the beans to Aunt Mary just now. Long story short, you're flying back here tomorrow."

"Double whammy! I hate this dump, I don't know how you'll be able to handle it once you come back."

"That's the second part, Annie. I'm not going back!"

"WHAT," Annie shouted in excitement, "Aunt Mary is letting you stay there? With me? With all of us?!"

"I guess you'll find out when you come home tomorrow! Now do what you have to do with your venom, I'm going down to eat lunch. Good luck Annie, I believe in you." Hallie hung up the phone.

Annie was left in pure joy and excitement. All of the adrenaline was rushing throughout her body once she pulled out the tube of venom. She examined it, flipping the tube upside down, right side up, and upside down again. She took out the cork cap and made her way downstairs, hiding it in her hand she covered with her sleeve. Everyone was at the table once she was downstairs.

"Oh great, Hallie, while you're up, why don't you grab us some wine." Meredith snobbishly said.

"Yeah… Why don't I?" Hallie smirked.

She walked to the kitchen and realized this could not have been a more perfect time to sabotage Meredith's drink. Part of her was tempted to sabotage Nick's drink as well, but there wasn't enough. Besides, she wanted him to suffer the way she did when he killed Elizabeth because who knew if it was intentional or not. She poured two glasses of red wine, emptied out the venom tube into one of them, and made sure she gave the right one to Meredith.

"The finest wine for you, my fair lady!" Annie said sarcastically.

"Whatever, give that to me."  
Annie then made her way over to Nick, and handed him his untouched glass.

"Here ya go, pops!"

"Thanks, Hal!"

Annie walked to the only empty chair where a delicious plate of steak, mountain of mashed potatoes, and grilled asparagus stared right at her. The sound of Nick clearing his throat broke her daze, and all her attention was paid to him. He raised his half-drank glass of red wine as he started his toast.

"Cheers," he said, "to Hallie having a fun trip and coming home in one piece."

"And also cheers to me and you, babe!"

"…and cheers to me and Meredith!" Nick added confusingly.

Annie rolled her eyes at Meredith, who then leaned over and gave Nick a long kiss on the lips just to get a rise out of her. Everyone then clinked their glasses together and both Nick and Hallie took a gulp out their drinks. Meredith, on the other hand, downed her glass of wine.

"Stay classy, Meredith." Hallie said with a disgusted look on her face.

Like the car ride, the three of them ate in silence until it was abruptly broken by Meredith coughing uncontrollably. The coughing turned into violent shaking, and in a blink of an eye, she hit on the floor, where Nick was trying to give her mouth to mouth.

"Meredith? Meredith?! Stay with me, please!" Nick panicked, "Hallie, call an ambulance!"

"You got it, dad!"

Hallie left the scene to the kitchen, where she stood and enjoyed watching Meredith struggle for the last breaths of air.

"Meredith! Hang in there! Please!" shouted Nick.  
"Forget it, Hallie, I'm taking her to the ER myself!" he yelled.  
Nick grabbed his car keys in a hurry, carried Meredith in his arms, who was still violently shaking and unresponsive, and out the door he went.

Early the following morning, Nick still had not returned home. Annie still had to pack her belongings and print out her plane ticket, but first, she had to call a cab. She had 10 minutes until she had to leave. Every bag of hers was ready to go, so she carried all of them downstairs. Before she headed out the door, she wanted to make a last minute impression that would last a life time. After a lot of thought, she took off her locket and placed it on the dining room table, which was the first thing you saw when you walked in the house. To make it even more obvious to Nick that she was Annie and not Hallie, reached into her memory box and took out the newspaper article from her mother's death and neatly laid it next to her locket. If that wasn't a dead giveaway, she didn't know what else would be. There was honk outside the door which indicated that the cab had finally arrived. Annie took a last look around the Parker household and walked out the door forever.


End file.
